Establishing the State of Sponsorship in Academic Otolaryngology Departments

Recent studies suggest sponsorship opportunities are not equal between men and women in academic surgical medicine. We aimed to quantify the state of sponsorship in academic otolaryngology based on gender to establish a baseline by which to mark future progress.

Cross-sectional study.

Publicly available department roster.

A cross-sectional study was performed in which academic rank, gender, and leadership role were obtained from departmental websites of all ACGME-accredited United States otolaryngology programs from June to September 2024.

Of 2253 academic ranks and 1113 leadership roles identified across 125 otolaryngology departments, 29.0% and 25.5% were respectively held by women (P < .0001). Fourteen of 99 (14.1%) department chairs, 44 of 122 (36.1%) program directors (P < .0001), and 54 of 301 division chief or directorship roles (17.9%, P < .01) were held by women. Two of 26 (4.3%) professor emeriti, 113 of 626 (18.1%) full professor, 186 of 633 (29.4%) associate professor, and 352 of 948 (37.1%) assistant professor roles were held by women (P < .0001). Significant differences were observed in the proportion of women in leadership roles in departments chaired by women versus men (45% vs 25%, P < .0005), and with female versus male program directors (43% and 15%, P < .0001).

Women held higher proportions of leadership positions within departments chaired and residency programs run by women. Research efforts to determine the factors associated with these trends, including surveys of personal experiences with sponsorship, are ongoing.